But for all Damien's good intentions, Akeirra misunderstood and took a step back from both boys. She rattled of a string of curses in her native language and glared suspiciously at both Devon and Damien. Her mind raced through Damien's words and only registered "deserve".

"Waat!" she barked sharply, her accent thickened by a combination of anger and fear. "It dou not... sense! Waat. No." Tears stung her eyes as she realized she was not making sense either. Crying, but determined not to screw up, she furiously wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, ready to try again.

"Desserrve..." she said slowly. She knew what it meant, but she'd been so terrified of failing before she even had a chance at this Academy that she hadn't heard the rest of Damien's words. She looked up into his face and saw compassion more than anything else. Then, her eyes flicked to Devon and saw nothing but contempt. She managed a weak smile to Damien and edged closer to him. She understood now that he was trying to defend her and that certainly helped her mood.

"Desserrve," she repeated, looking up curiously at Damien, her accent still thick, but at least understandable. "Tank you."

Feeling somewhat more comfortable now that she appeared to have an ally, she managed another dark scowl at Devon and then tried to forget him.